


A lesson in friendship

by Shibakamiko



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Comfort, Fluff, Gen, Male Friendship, Not Canon Compliant, References to Depression, Tickling, post insomnia's fall, written before the game's release so obviously it is NOT canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-29
Updated: 2018-11-29
Packaged: 2019-09-02 05:42:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,160
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16780759
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shibakamiko/pseuds/Shibakamiko
Summary: Insomnia's fall had been a shock for everyone. But for Noctis who not only lost his country but his father too, even more so. As he withdraws more and more, it's up to his three close friends to help him out of it - by any necessary means.





	A lesson in friendship

**Author's Note:**

> Quick reminder that this was written before the game's release! So I had seen Kingsglaive and Brotherhood and played the Platinum Demo at that time, but nothing else! Which means, of course, in the actual game things didn't happen the way I wrote them here. I probably didn't get their personality well enough at first either. But anyhow, I hope you'll still enjoy it :)

Insomnia had fallen.  
They had heard the news a few days prior, from a TV broadcast at the gas station. The Niflheim army had broken the peace treaty. They had taken the city, ravaged the streets, killing every citizen that dared resist in the process. And worse of all… they had murdered the king. Noctis’ father.  
His three companions dreaded the prince’s reaction. But oddly, he showed nothing. He just averted his eyes from the screen, and exited the place without a single word. Prompto was tempted to follow him, just in case, but Ignis convinced him not to. Maybe he needed some alone time to sort his feelings out.  
Truth be told, they half expected him to expulse his rage through a good fight, or even shed a few tears – secretly, of course ; he wasn’t the type to cry in front of anyone, not even his closest friends. And so they politely waited a few minutes at the station… in vain.  
Noctis wasn’t crying. Nor screaming. Or doing anything of what they imagined – of what any normal person would do when facing the death of a parent. He merely walked right back at their car, settled on the passenger’s seat, and fell asleep. Just like this.  
Weird.  
Then again, he had always been prompt to sleep; a backlash to his special powers, or so he claimed. And if such a simple act could help him overcome his grief… how could the others blame him?  
The thing is, it wasn’t a one-time occurrence. As days passed, it became more like a real habit; should they pause in their track for five minutes, they would always find the prince sitting somewhere – a bench, the bottom of a tree, a rock, whatever place he could find –, snoring his boredom away. And that, honestly, started to freak them out a bit. He didn’t even look tired! No yawning, no falling eyelids, nothing! Yet he could turn himself off at will. It felt like they weren’t travelling with a human being, but with a walking, eating, man-shaped machine.

So when they finally reached a town and signed in at the local inn that day, they knew what to expect. And their predictions were confirmed: they only had time to put their stuff inside the room, open the window’s curtains… and when they looked over their shoulders, Noctis had already removed his boots, laid on one of the beds, and currently proceeded to snuggle under the blanket to make himself comfortable.  
They had to summon all of their willpower not to sigh out loud. This was getting ridiculous…

“Aww, Noct, come on!” Prompto was probably the most affected by his best friend’s attitude. In normal circumstances, he and Noctis would be roaming the streets of this new city by now, visiting the main attractions, tasting the different specialties, or just enjoying the lack of monsters lurking around for once. But they hadn’t done anything of the sort in what felt like ages, and the blond couldn’t help but take it as a personal offense. “I saw a kabob stall, two streets down this one! You like that, right?? Don’t you wanna go and have a bite?”

Noctis emitted a non-committal sound. And snuggled some more. Apparently, the proposition didn’t appeal to him one bit… to Prompto’s utter disappointment. The latter threw himself beside his friend on the mattress, and shook his shoulder.

“Noooct, please! Can’t you at least _answer_ me?! Like, with _words_?!”  
“… fuck off.”

Ah. Well, that was slightly better than the silent treatment, but definitely not pleasant. So the blond resorted to another tactic, a tactic he hoped would be annoying enough to get that lazy-ass of a prince out of his cocoon: he poked him. Right in the ribs.  
He expected a groan; he got an elbow square in the gut.

“ _Oooww!!_ Ow-ow-ow! What was that for?!”  
“Serves you right.” Noctis snorted, not sparing him a single glance.

That, finally, prompted a reaction from one of their spectators. Gladiolus stepped toward the bed and its two occupants, arms crossed on his chest.

“Now that wasn’t so nice, Noct. Seriously, what’s wrong with you?” he asked, his voice stern. “You’ve been like this for days… Anything you’d like to tell us?”

He often acted as the mediator and somewhat fatherly figure of the gang; when the younger ones needed to confess something, they usually turned to him first – Ignis scared them too much, with good reasons. But this time, he had no luck in making the prince open his heart.

“’tis none of you guys’ business.” Yet another concise answer that said absolutely nothing.

Prompto, visibly hurt, poked his friend again, a bit harder. And this time, Noctis made a strangled, irritated noise before retaliating with a second blow. The blond pouted, at a loss. This tiny sound could be a lead though. It tugged at his mind in a way he didn’t really understand quite yet… As if it was trying to remind him of something… something he’d forgotten, over the course of the years… What was it… what…  
Oh. _Oh, oh, oh!_  
A sly smile stretched his lips. Raising his head, he locked eyes with Gladiolus, and waggled his eyebrows. Apparently the other already got the hint, because he already sported a very similar grin.

“Last chance: get off this bed and talk to us.” he warned. “Or else…”

Or else what? Noctis doubted his own bodyguard and his best friend would be very severe with him. He could take the risk, he decided. This was his problem, and he didn’t want to burden anyone else with it. Defiantly, he pulled the blanket over his head.  
Unknowing of the favor he’d just made the other two… 

It all went in the blink of an eye. First, the blanket was literally ripped off its owner. Then the two male pounced. Noctis barely had time to register their move, let alone fight them off. Pillows flew all over, with curses thrown here and there for good measure. But soon, the prince ended up flat on his back, both wrists held above his head, one captive in Prompto’s slender hand, the other in Gladiolus’ larger one. He grunted and tried to squirm out of it, kicking his legs. With little success. His strength was simply no match against these two's teamwork.

“The heck are you doing?!” he snarled.  
“Well, we did give you a nice and friendly warning, didn’t we?” Prompto was beaming, and though he didn’t know why exactly, Noctis didn’t like that _at all_.  
“Yet you still acted like a royal brat and refused to talk to us.” Gladiolus faked being sorry and failed at it in quite epic proportions. “So, if you’re not gonna talk from your own volition…”  
“… we’ll just have to make you~”

And before Noctis could proceed what they were hinting at, they raised their free hands… and jabbed both indexes in perfect sync at his sides. There was a sharp inhalation from the Lucis heir, and a brief flash of surprise in shining blue eyes.

“W-what the-GAHH!”

More pokes, combined with gentle claw-motions of the assaulting fingers. He tensed up, arms straining against the grips holding him down. What were they doing?! It didn’t make sense! What was the point in…  
Oh. _Fuck._  
It hit him like a truck. The twinkling of their eyes… their wriggling gestures… Panic gripped his guts, and if the widening grins on his friends’ faces were any indication, he must have looked quite miserable for a second here - though he quickly got a hold of himself.

“G-guys…” Or tried, at least. His voice still trembled too obviously to fool anyone. “You’re not going to… you know… ”

The others cocked their heads.

“Hm? We’re not going to… what? You’ve gotta be more precise.” Curse you Gladiolus, you look way too happy with this…

Noctis gulped, throat dry as sandpaper. And completed:

“… t-tickle me?” Oh god. The moment the words left his mouth, he immediately knew he’d fallen right in their trap. His face paled. “ _N-NO!_ I didn’t mean that, I-I…!  
“Aw, but you asked so nicely!”

Of course they’d been waiting for that mistake of his, those bastards! Their hands were already initiating their descent, again toward his sides – only this time it wasn’t meant as a one-finger attack and he knew it. Noctis tried to steel himself, closing his eyes shut. Okay… he wouldn’t be able to escape it; that was clear. He still vividly remembered how his caretakers would tickle him as a child, and those were not exactly fond memories… but he was an adult now, right? Maybe he had grown out of it? Probably. No, certainly. The first pokes only startled him, that was all. Yeah, nothing more to it…

“ _EEEP…!!_ ”

Shit. So long for that theory.

With ten fingers probing his body, Noctis broke into squeaky giggles, twisting and turning from side to side. In the small part of his mind that wasn’t trying to be stubborn, he knew he was fucked. Big time. Yet he still attempted to block the sensations, or force that stupid smile off his face; which not only didn’t work, but also gave him the silliest albeit cutest expressions. The others just had to chuckle along with him.

“Ooh boy, look at his face! And was that a squeal I heard?”  
“I think it waaas! Aww, he’s so adorable~”

Noctis felt his cheeks flush pink in embarrassment. They just _had_ to be mean teasers and make it ten times worse, didn’t they…

“Ahaham NOT!!!”he protested. Though the way his voice sounded, breathless and higher pitched than usual, made him precisely even cuter and _he. fucking. hated it._  
“’Course you are! Here, if I do this…”

Prompto’s fingers sneaked under the black T-shirt, and found a very sensitive belly. Noctis couldn’t help it, no matter how hard he tried to; he squeaked louder, abdominals contracting uncontrollably.

“There! Told you!”

The fingers twirled around and around, before one index dipped in the delicate navel – a weak spot, considering how the prince bucked like a Garula at that new feeling. Meanwhile, Gladiolus had moved his ticklish attentions higher, on a set of ribs, and was digging between each with dedication. Their victim trembled, literally screaming in laughter.

“So, what do you say?” The Shield had to raise his voice significantly to be heard. “Still not gonna talk, _Your Ticklishness_?”

Noctis was starting to get really overwhelmed by the sensations; but he shook his head no nonetheless. His stubbornness made the others roll their eyes.

“Suit yourself!”

And rolling his T-shirt all the way up, they both switched their touches to his unprotected armpits.

“NaAH!” Blue eyes watered as the prince dug his heels into the mattress and arched up, trying to shake his tormentors off. “Stahap! T-this is chihildish!!” he cried.  
“Oh really?” Prompto snickered. “Who’s the one been the most childish here, eh? Going beddy-byes all day like a wittle baby~”

If Noctis was flushed already, he straight-out turned _tomato red_ at those teasing words. He wanted to deny it… but how could he without spilling the truth? And he wouldn’t allow that. So he just gritted his teeth and bore with it, hoping they’d stop before he reached his breaking point…

“That’s enough.”

No one had expected the fourth member to step in. The others immediately stopped in shock, to Noctis’ biggest relief.  
A relief that, unfortunately, turned out very short lived…

“Out of the way, _amateurs_.” Ignis rolled his sleeves as he walked toward his companions, expression unreadable. “I doubt you’ll ever get anything out of him with such… unrefined methods. Allow me to take matters in my own hands.”  
“ _NO!!!_ ”

That scream had been completely non-premeditated; it ripped out of the prince’s throat by itself, startling the others – and even Noctis himself – with how frightened it sounded. Honestly though, he had every reason to feel scared. Of every person who’d tickled him as a kid, Ignis had been by far the absolute worst. That damn four-eyes was meticulous, merciless, and what’s more, probably the most creative tickler of all Lucis – heck, of all Eos even. Deathly qualities he never hesitated to put in practice when, say, the prince he was in charge of needed to be reminded of good manners…

“A little nervous, aren’t we?” the aforementioned devil gave a small, crooked smile. “Let me help you with that.”

And dismissing Noctis’ vigorous trashing, he quickly guided the others to their new posts. In a matter of seconds, Prompto had moved up to gather both of their victim’s wrists in his hands, while Gladiolus now took hold of his ankles. Ignis himself threw one leg over the prince, and sat down as lightly as he could below his waist, careful not to hurt him. He then cracked his knuckles.

“Well. Any last words?” Noctis let out a inspired curse. “Ah. Thought as much.”

Fingers were already moving toward a quivering stomach, and the prince braced himself for one hell of a ride… though, to his surprise, nothing came. Ignis didn’t go for the kill as he first thought; he kept his hands hovering above the skin, two inches away from contact. A look of faked indecision on his face.

“Hmm… where to start, I wonder… those soft hips?”

The hands migrated toward the designated area, fingers wriggling slightly. Noctis bit his lips, trying to hold in the laughter that already wanted to escape him. But again, Ignis stopped before touching him.

“Or… maybe higher? We wouldn’t want those delicious ribs to feel neglected, now, would we…”

This time, Noctis clearly giggled, a nervous smile straining the corners of his mouth. Dear gods… he wasn’t even getting tickled! The mere threat of it, the anticipation, that bastard’s knowing stare fixed on his, the helplessness of his situation… all of this was killing him. Slowly but surely.

“Oh, I know. Those sensitive underarms haven’t received half the attention they deserve yet…”

The prince yipped, the smile growing on his face as he chanted small “no-no-no-no”s over and over. Adrenaline flooded his veins, his nerves standing fully alert and waiting. He could almost feel the air itself tickle him, just from the slow, methodical movements of those fingers above. This tactic was nothing short of cruel!

“Let’s see… hm, I still don’t know…”

Okay. That was it. He couldn’t take it anymore. He snapped, bucking angrily under his friend.

“ _Just do it already!!!_ " 

Ignis bowed his head mockingly.

“As you wish, Your Highness.”

A short half second later, Noctis already regretted his words. The foreplay might have been terrible, but it also made his ticklishness skyrocket. And now the real deal proved to be freaking _hellish_. Ignis remembered every. single. one. of his weak spots, and worse of all, the best strategy to extract the maximum reactions out of each. He should have known: that guy was basically a living encyclopedia… of course he’d keep those informations – probably with blackmail in mind.  
Now the prince suffered the consequences of both his naivety and his obstinacy. Ignis’s short nails traced patterns all over his abs – his death spot around this area – and Noctis threw his head back, deep, hysterical laughter echoing in the room. Good thing it was still midday, or else the whole inn would be at their door right now, asking who was being murdered… which wasn’t a completely incorrect way to put it, because the main interested party _did_ feel somewhat murdered. Death by tickles… that wasn’t the epitaph he wanted to see on his tomb.

So when he heard Ignis call out for Gladiolus, inviting him to work on his feet, and when said bodyguard’s fingers started gliding down his socked soles, his resolve finally broke. Gathering what was left of his breath, he cried out.

“Okahay OKAY, _I YIELD!!_ ”

His friends all stopped instantly. Prompto and Gladiolus released his extremities; only Ignis stayed where he was – most certainly to insure that the prince wouldn’t get back on his word. Not that he intended to. There was no way he was going through that again!

“Well? We’re listening?” Prompto leaned toward him, cocking his head.

Noctis took a moment to compose himself, panting and wiping the tears on his cheeks. But he was just stalling, they knew it. And he had to get starting eventually.

“I… feel down, ok? My dad wasn’t… the best father, but he still was the only family I had left. And now… I just… it’s stupid, but I feel lonely and…” _Oh for the love of everything holy please tell me I’m not gonna cry… not like this, not now…_ “I… kind of… find solace where I can. At least when you sleep you don’t have to… remember what you don’t want to.”

There. He said it. Spitting it all hadn’t been easy; he had never talked about himself like this, never expressed his feelings. Things simply weren’t meant to be that way. As the descendant of the Caelum family and future heir to the throne, he couldn’t allow himself to show any weakness. Or well, he tried not to. Today wasn’t a very successful day on that matter.  
He felt vulnerable, having broken that shell he’d built around his heart. And he half expected the others to laugh at him… but they didn’t. Instead, he felt Ignis grab his hand, and squeeze it reassuringly.

“Actually… we knew from the start.”  
The prince’s eyes widened. “You… you did?”  
Gladiolus softly patted his legs. “Couldn’t have been more obvious. Who do you take us for? We know you better than you think.”

Now Noctis was completely lost. He stared at the others, shock written all over his face.  
“But… why did you do that then?!”

Ignis gave him a smile – a gentle one, for a change.

“We thought you could use a laugh or two. You’ve been serious enough for the four of us, lately – and that means a lot coming from someone like me, doesn’t it?”

The others all chuckled at that, even Noctis. He shook his head. He couldn’t believe those guys…

“I… don’t know what to say…”

Prompto ruffled his raven-black hair affectionately.

“Just promise us one thing: that you won’t keep it all in yourself from now on. Deal? If you’re sad, just say so! We’re your friends. We’re here for you, we had always been, and will always be.”

How could one answer to that? Noctis couldn’t. His throat tightened, as he felt new tears ready to spill at any minute. Friends… yes, of course they were. The best he could ever have hoped for. The emptiness in his heart would not disappear, but now he knew he had misunderstood everything.  
He wasn’t alone. He never was.  
He hid his face behind shaking hands. Hoping to conceal the dampness in his eyes… and that silly, happy smile he couldn’t control.

“Promise.” he whispered.

_Thanks, guys. For the laugh… and… everything else._


End file.
